The Awakening: Tainted Sea
by Wes Hough
Summary: Part 3 of my series. Deirdre and Garrett end up in Ivar's kingdom, but learn that they aren't the only ones who are in need of aid.


The ocean was calm. The small boat with the two warriors had safely arrived at the kingdom. Garrett now lay in the Chamber of Lords, where only royalty was allowed. The white wizards had nursed Garrett back to health, but the scar across his face remained. Deirdre sat by his side, his hand in hers. She waited for him to wake up, at night and at day. The sun had just come up, and the rays of light filled the chamber. The light hit her face, which lay on Garrett's chest. She awoke, lifting her head and body off of the chair at which she had been for the past week.

"Ugh, I can't believe I slept in this late," she said to herself. She looked around, noticing the exquisite architecture, from the elegant posts that held up the ceiling to the design on the fireplace. She heard the door opening and swung her head around to see who it was. Ivar, the new ruler of the kingdom, was standing in the entrance. 

"How is he?" Ivar asked as he approached Deirdre.

"He's stable. He should be waking up soon," she replied. 

"It's been a long time hasn't it? I have almost missed the thrill of battle, but am also pleased that my kingdom has yet to battle while under my leadership," the king boasted.

"Yes, it has been a while. I wish I could say that Kells has been peaceful, but if I did it would only be a lie," she replied. "Garrett is not the only reason I cam here. There is something else I need to talk with you about."

"What is it?"

"A new evil. About a week ago a dark cloud approached Kells, carrying with it a dark aura. I imagine that it hit Reged, and that is why Garrett is injured," she told him, with great concern in her voice.

"This dark cloud you speak of also hit my kingdom. And strange monsters appeared. At first we thought it was just a monster that our summoner had conjured up, but then more came. They were Minotaurs. They carried maces in each hand. Our army was able to defeat most of them with few casualties, but one, he was different from the others, and I remember he was a different color. He was a little bigger than the rest, and instead of being the normal red color, he was black. He also wore a necklace, with a golden eye on it. He disappeared in the thick of battle, we all thought he had fled, but we were wrong. I was going to tell my father that it was over, but when I entered the room…" his eyes began to water, and he took his hand to wipe the tears. "When I entered the room my stomach sank. My father, the king, sat on the throne, his royal cloak was bathed in red. I ran over to help him, but I was too late. The wizards tried to tend to him, but were unsuccessful. He was already gone."

"Oh, Ivar, I'm sorry, I had no idea. Do you have any guess as to who the person is that might be doing this is?" she asked him. 

"I…I do…" the voice came from the bed. Deirdre jumped up and ran over to Garrett's side. His voice was weak. "Her name is Raven. She came to my kingdom a few weeks ago seeking help. We gave it to her, and after a week she was fine," he pushed himself up so he was sitting on the bed. "She started visiting the libraries a lot, gaining knowledge of magic that even out highest priests couldn't understand. After a few weeks she left, and that was when it started. An ominous cloud suddenly appeared, and one night, ugh," he grunted, and he grabbed his chest in pain and began shaking. Deirdre grabbed his arm to try and make him stop shaking.

"Ugh, I'm okay," he said as he put his hand in Deirdre's. "As the cloud appeared, so did monsters, but they weren't anything like Maeve's monsters. These were vicious, and purely evil. I looked one of them straight in the eye, and I saw the gates of Hell. My troops tried to fight off the demons, but were unsuccessful. I had my troops use all their firepower, but nothing could tear their rock-hard skin, well, nothing but my axes. The monsters finally realized that my weapon was able to stop them, so they swarmed me. I was unable to destroy all of them."

"But now that we're all together we should be able to handle them!" Ivar said, tears running down his face. "I will find this woman, and I shall do this world a favor and dispose of her!" 

"We will find her. But we must wait until Garrett is fully healed. I do not want to put him in danger," Deirdre stated with concern in her voice. "Is there any way the white mages could somehow accelerate his tissue re-growth so he could heal faster?"

"I will check. I think that the high mage Shara will be able to heal him. I will check," Ivar announced as he stood up and walked out of the room.

"Wow, he must be hurting inside. I can always rebuild my kingdom, but I don't think I could cope with something like that happening," Garrett told Deirdre as she walked around the room.

"He's probably going to carry those scars with him forever. But the first thing we need to do is find that monster that attacked his kingdom, the Minotaurs, was it?" Deirdre asked. Before Garrett could reply Ivar entered the room, followed by a woman in a white robe, which covered her body and face.

"You must be Garrett, I have been told of you," the woman spoke very mysteriously, her voice echoing off of the walls. "I will use my white magic to heal you, but it will only tend to your outside wounds. It can mend your flesh, but cannot heal any bruises. Get ready, I suggest you close your eyes." The woman raised both arms, her long, thin fingers moving in such a way that they seemed to be conjuring up a spell. The silver rings on her fingers started to glow, radiating light throughout the room. A white light washed over Garrett. His wounds began to close up, and the scar across his face mended together, as if it was stitched up. The light began to dim, Garrett stood up, his body devoid of any damage. Deirdre ran over to him and wrapped her arms around him, and he did the same to her. 

"Now that we're all ready, we can go find the evils that that witch has created!" Ivar exclaimed. 

"The only problem is that we have no idea where it's at," Deirdre said.

"I know where it's at. I can sense the presence of evil," Shara told them with terror in her voice. "The creature is in the Caves of the Forsaken. But be warned, few have entered the caves and came out alive." 

"Do not worry, we will make it out alive, I am sure of it. The Mystic Knight of Water will never be vanquished by evil!"

"Nor will I, Mystic Knight of the Air. I will fight for my people, and my allies!"

"And I, the Mystic Knight or the Forest, will avenge my people, and bring hope and peace to the lands!" 

As they left the castle they obtained goods to help them with their journey. But little did they know that the evil that had plagued Rheged had been standing by them the entire time.


End file.
